LibQUAL a tool for quality

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LibQUAL a tool for quality
Tom Larney

• Ferdinand Postma Library
• Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University

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About this workshop

• This is a workshop please interrupt!
• Who is attending?
• Not an official presentation
• Not a substitute for the manual
• Other participants
• Result of only one years experience

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Why this workshop?

• Little benchmarking until now
• Quality is the name of the game
• National priority
• DoE, funding, HEQC
• Library bodies
• Opportunity for international involvement
• Opportunity for development
• Mutual support

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Systems for quality

• International benchmarks
• Cooperative data capturing
• Local and ad hoc surveys
• Increasing emphasis on perceptions
• Need to relate input to output in terms of quality

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Examples of systems

• Quality Service Audit Checklist
• http//www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,207-160--12803
  6--,00.html
• Library Service Quality and Satisfaction Survey
  (Thomas University)
• http//www.thomasu.edu/library/survey.html
• ARL ServQUAL - LibQUAL. Also DigiQUAL, MINES,
  E-metrics

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Basic concepts

• Measures perceptions
• Whose perceptions?
• How? Pre-set questionnaire
• Where? Web-based
• What do you get?
• 22 Items and a Box

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Dimensions ofLibrary Service Quality
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Survey Structure(Detail View)
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Graduate StudentsMixed reviews
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The Process

• Decision and basic preparation
• Is this for us?
• Speak to colleagues
• Appoint a project team
• Ethics clearance
• IT support and infrastructure

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• Registering
• How
• Where
• Payment
• Time considerations
• Profiling (personal, institution, panel)
• Training
• Manual
• Consultations with groups
• Online sessions
• Embarrasment of riches (publications)

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• Managing your survey
• Preferences
• Language
• Dates
• Incentives
• SPSS data files
• Survey support e-mail
• Logo
• Customization
• Five supplemental questions
• Disciplines
• Library branches

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• Preview
• Testing
• Approve
• Representativeness
• All users
• Pros and cons
• Sampling
• Pros and cons

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Marketing

• General marketing
• Targeted requests
• Library staff
• Incentives
• Forcing their hand
• Reminders
• Beware of survey fatigue

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Monitoring the process

• Logging on to account
• Statistics about progress
• Comments
• Pattern of activity
• Closing the survey
• Post hoc questionnaire

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Eventually the results!

• Comments
• Results notebook
• Time
• Announcement
• Contents
• Language
• SPSS files
• Later
• No assistance

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Reacting to the results

• Comments
• Comparison with others
• Caveats
• Feedback
• Modifying plans

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The South African experience

• Other presentations
• Wildly excited
• Opportunities for cooperation and benchmarking
• Great support
• Most value from comments
• Statistical information less pronounced
• Repeat?

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• Thank you.

Enjoy the LibQUAL ride!